Spindle-supporting means for rolling mills



April 18, U GE|ER SPINDLE-SUPPORTING MEANS FOR ROLLING MILLS 5Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 16, 1964 April 18, 1967 u. GEIERSPINDLE-SUPPORTING MEANS FOR ROLLING MILLS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec.16, 1964 Fig 5 April 18, U GE|ER SPINDLE-SUPPORTING MEANS FOR ROLLINGMILLS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec.

N VN R N W United States Patent 3,314,265 SPINDLE-SUPPORTING MEANS FORROLLING MILLS Ulf Geier, Osterath-Bovert, Germany, assignor t0Schloemann Aktiengesellschaft, Dusseldorf, Germany Filed Dec. 16, 1964,Ser. No. 418,609 Claims priority, application Germany, Dec. 27, 1963,Sch 34,388 3 Claims. (Cl. 72-249) Counterbalancing the weight of thespindles of rolling mills with rolls having their axes arrangedvertically one above another is efiected in a known manner by means of arocker, one cantilever arm of which carries a journal bearing, whilstits other cantilever arm carries a counterpoise serving tocounterbalance the weight of the spindle. With rolls having their axesarranged obliquely one above the other, or horizontally side by side,this known method of counterbalancing the weight is not directlyapplicable, since the driving spindles, when changes of roll gap occur,also execute, or exclusively execute, a slewing movement in a horizontalplane, and not, as in the case of upright roll stands, an exclusivelyvertical rocking movement.

The object of the present invention is to enable this known method ofcounterbalancing weight to be adopted in the case of horizontal rollstands also, independently of what rocking movement the spindles mayexecute relatively to one another upon an adjustment of the rollsoccurring.

The invention consists in the feature that the rocker is made swingableabout a vertical axis, and the journal hearing of the driving spindle isso arranged on one cantilever arm of the rocker as to be rockable aboutboth a horizontal and a vertical axis. This renders it possible :for therocker to follow any change of position of the spindle, without therequisite counterbalancing of weight being thereby impaired in itsaction. The rocking movement of the journal bearing with two degrees offreedom is attained in a simple manner by the fact that thejournal-bearing casing is supported with a vertical pivot in a stirrupsupported with a pivot in the double cantilever arm of the rocker, thestirrup being rockable about a horizontal axis in the cantilever arm,and the bearing casing being rockable about a vertical axis in thestirrup.

Instead of the stirrup, rockably arranged about the horizontal on onecantilever arm or the double cantilever arm of the rocker, it is alsopossible to employ in an advan tageous manner a bearing body with asemi-cylindrical under portion, which is so supported in a correspondingconcave recess in the cantilever arm of the rocker as to be swingableabout a horizontal axis. The rocker thereby admits of being madesubstantially narrower, since, instead of a double cantilever arm, onlya single cantilever arm is required for the accommodation of the bearingbody that carries the bearing casing.

Two constructional examples of the invention are i1- lustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a front view of the rocker, with a bearing body in theform of a stirrup for accommodating the bearing casing;

FIGURE 2 shows a side view of the rocker shown in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 a plan view of this rocker.

FIGURE 4 shows a rocker with a bearing body of a diiferent shape for theaccommodation of the bearing casing;

FIGURE 5 shows a plan of the rocker shown in FIG- URE 4; and

FIGURE 6 shows a diagrammatic plan of a rolling mill 3,3l4,265 PatentedApr. 18, 1967 "ice with the spindle-supporting means according to theinvention.

In these figures, 1 denotes the base supporting the rocker. On this basea rocker block 2 is rotatably supported, by means of a pivot 3, about avertical axis 4. Two cantilever arms 5 and 6 of the rocker, forming onemember, are so supported by means of bolts 7 in the rocker block 2 as tobe rockable about a horizontal axis 8.

In the constructional example according to FIGURES l to 3, as contrastedwith the embodiment therein in FIG- URES 4 and 5, the cantilever arms ofthe rocker are constructed as double cantilever .arm 5, 5' and 6, 6' forthe accommodation of a bearing body, here shown as a stirrup 9. Thestirrup 9 is supported by pivots 10 and 10' in corresponding recesses 11(FIGURE 2) in the double cantilever arm 6, 6', and is rockable about thehorizontal axis 12. A journal-bearing casing 13 is axially slidable upona spindle 14, and is so supported, with a pivot 15 in the stirrup 9, asto be capable of swinging about the vertical axis 16.

In the constructional example according to FIGURES 4 and 5, thejournal-bearing casing 13 is so supported by its pivot 15 in a bearingbody 17 as to be capable of slewing about a vertical axis 16. The underportion 18 of the bearing body 17 is made semi-cylindrical, and is soguided in a corresponding recess 19 in the cantilever arm 6 as to berockable about a horizontal axis 20.

The counterpoise 21 is adjustably arranged upon the cantilever arm 5, or5, 5.

Owing to the fact that the journal-bearing casing 13, in conjunctionwith the stirrup 9 or with the bearing body 17, is rockable relativelyto the cantilever arm 6, or 6, 6' with two degrees of freedom, and, inaddition to this, the rocker can also be slewed about the vertical axis,it will be gathered, particularly from FIGURE 6, that no jamming of thejournal bearing for the driving spindles 14 is possible upon theadjustment of the rolls 22 lying side by side with their axes in ahorizontal plane in the roll stand 23. If the rolls are adjusted afreshin the direction of the arrows 24, then the axes 25 of the drivingspindles 14 assume a new position 25' in the direction of the arrows 24.In this case the rocker block 2 swings with its longitudinal axis 26about the vertical axis 4 into the new position 26'. At the same timethe bearing casing 13 turns about its vertical axis 16 in relation tothe cantilever arm 6. In this new position the vertical axis of thejournal-bearing casing is located at the point 16'. If the rolls arelocated with their axes not in a horizontal plane but in a planeinclined obliquely to the horizontal, the differences of level occurringupon the adjustment of the rolls are automatically compensated for byrotary movements of the corresponding members about the horizontal axes8 and 12, or 8 and 20.

I claim:

1. Spindle-supporting means for rolling mills in which the rolls are notlocated vertically one above the other, comprising: a base, a rockerblock so mounted upon the base as to be turnable about a vertical axis,a rocker so mounted upon the rocker block as to be turnable about ahorizontal axis, the rocker having cantilever arms extending on oppositesides of the axis about which it turns, a counterpoise on the rocker onone side of its axis, a hearing body so mounted upon the rocker, on theother side of its axis, as to be turnable, relatively to the rocker,about a horizontal axis, and a journal-bearing casing so mounted in thebearing body that it can turn, relatively to the bearing body, about avertical axis, the spindle to be supported being axially slidablethrough the journal-bearing casing, which supports it.

2. Spindle-supporting means for rolling mills as claimed ReferencesCited by the Examiner in claim 1, the bearing body being formed with aconvex UNITED STATES PATENTS semi-cylindrical under surface having ahorizontal axis of curvature, and the rocker being formed with a concave1452347 72 2Z6 semi-cylindrical surface in Which the under surface ofthe 5 2618941 1 versen 72-2 9 bearing body rests, and about thehorizontal axis of which FOREIGN PATENTS It can 3 701,655 1/1941Germany.

3. Spindle-supporting means for rolling m11ls as claimed 735,154 5/1943Germany in claim 1, the bearing body being in the form of a stirruphaving trunnions journaled in the rocker for its move- 10 CHARLES LANHAMPnmmy Examme ment about a horizontal axis. L. A. LARSON, AssistantExaminer.

1. SPINDLE-SUPPORTING MEANS FOR ROLLING MILLS IN WHICH THE ROLLS ARE NOTLOCATED VERTICALLY ONE ABOVE THE OTHER, COMPRISING: A BASE, A ROCKERBLOCK SO MOUNTED UPON THE BASE AS TO BE TURNABLE ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS,A ROCKER SO MOUNTED UPON THE ROCKER BLOCK AS TO BE TURNABLE ABOUT AHORIZONTAL AXIS, THE ROCKER HAVING CANTILEVER ARMS EXTENDING ON OPPOSITESIDES OF THE AXIS ABOUT WHICH IT TURNS, A COUNTERPOISE ON THE ROCKER ONONE SIDE OF ITS AXIS, A BEARING BODY SO MOUNTED UPON THE ROCKER, ON THEOTHER SIDE OF ITS AXIS, AS TO BE TURNABLE, RELATIVELY TO THE ROCKER,ABOUT A HORIZONTAL AXIS, AND A JOURNAL-BEARING CASING SO MOUNTED IN THEBEARING BODY THAT IT CAN TURN, RELATIVELY TO THE BEARING BODY, ABOUT AVERTICAL AXIS, THE SPINDLE TO BE SUPPORTED BEING AXIALLY SLIDABLETHROUGH THE JOURNAL-BEARING CASING, WHICH SUPPORTS IT.